Conley scores 25 as Lady Jets advance

BROOKVILLE – The Franklin-Monroe girls basketball team packaged together an impressive game Saturday afternoon in knocking off Dayton Christian 51-31 in the first round of the Division IV girls sectional tournament at Brookville.

The win moves the Lady Jets into the next round at 6 p.m. on Wednesday night against Troy Christian, a team they defeated a couple of weeks ago. Corina Conley led Franklin-Monroe with 25 points, while Dayton Christian was led by Camryn Collinsworth with 17. Chloe McGlinch chipped in with 10 for the Jets, who are now 17-6 on the season. The Lady Warriors finish the season at 9-13.

The Lady Jets had plenty of fuel in the first quarter as they raced off to a 9-4 lead at the 2:39 mark only to double that total by the end of the quarter. The Lady Warriors could only muster a bucket during this time frame to help stem the tide. Conley hit for two threes, one regular and two free throws for 10 points in the period. McGlinch had a pair of three’s for 6 points. Collinsworth, who is only a junior for the Warriors, scored twice for 4 points.

The Lady Warriors showed they had plenty of fight left in them for at least one frame as they hit for 10 points and held the Jets to just 6 in the second quarter. Conley had 4 of those points – all on free throws – and Chloe Peters added a basket for the Jets total in the second quarter.

The Lady Warriors were led by Bailey Peterson with 4, matched likewise by Collinsworth. The Lady Jets did not hit their first points until the 3:22 mark by two of Conley’s freebies. The Warriors did cut the lead to four at 20-16 before Conley and Peters netted the next four to go up 24-16 heading into intermission.

Franklin-Monroe came out focused to start the third quarter and hit for 15 points while holding the Warriors to 8. The Warriors got to within 24-20 at the 5:52 mark, but the Lady Jets went on a 9-0 run to increase their lead to 35-21 lead. FM concluded the quarter by scoring 4 of the next 7 points to carry a 15-point lead into the final frame. Collinsworth again was the go-to girl as she hammered home another 6 points for Dayton Christian. Conley was again the cornerstone for the Jets as she launched in 7 more points. McGlinch was right behind her with 4 points to keep the Jets going in the right direction.

Defense was the name of the game in the fourth as the scoreboard did not light up frequently. Dayton Christian was held to 7 points in the last 8 minutes, while Franklin-Monroe did register 12 points. Collinsworth had 3 points in the final quarter for the Warriors. Skylar Bauman led the Jets with 5 points in the frame including a long three and a deuce. Conley added 4 points and Belle Cable had 3.

”I was proud of our effort tonight as we all played well and forced 30 turnovers to make our transition game effective,” FM coach Abbey Moore said. “Our defense was on tonight and free throw shooting was definitely a plus with us hitting 11 out of 12 from the line. (Corina) Conley was a perfect 9 of 9 tonight and this is something we work on every day in practice as free throw shooting can either win a game for you or lose it for you. Chloe McGlinch hit two important threes to get us going in the first and Belle was all over the court tonight even when her shot wasn’t falling.

“Next game up in the tourney is Wednesday night against Troy Christian, a team we defeated a couple of weeks ago where it was close at half before we pulled away in the second,” she continued. “We look forward to our next game and we appreciate all the support we get from the community and our boys’ team coming out tonight to cheer us on.”